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Gonzo Trip! Jan 26-29, 2019

My fam and GF's 2 and 3 and DS13 (6 folks!) left my home Saturday morning at 4am. We piled into my Sequoia (AKA Darth Vader) and drove from Will Vall to SoCal. We were making excellent time until we hit LA, of course. We finally reached Worldmark Anaheim around 7pm, where GF#1 was meeting us after flying down from SeaTac. After checking in, we chanced trying to get into Bubba Gump's. There was a huge music convention at the ACC, so we were told it was futile, but we managed to get in in only 20 minutes. Had a fabulously fun time there - especially when the Shrimp guy came around and embarrassed/freaked the heck out of my angsty teen DD!

Filled our bellies with nummy garlic shrimp then went back to the hotel. Stuffed 7 people into my 2 br room. Had a couple of beers with my GFs, then went to bed.

Day 2:

Drill sergeant Maleficent woke everyone up at 6:30 with homemade breakfast burritos brought from home and pre-purchased ART tickets. Filled bellies, made sure money, tickets, IDs were all accounted for, then headed to the park. Hit DL first. It was all a bit of a blur, and I was having too much fun to log every ride. I know we did BTMRR first... we used the heck out of our MaxPass. I'd never been to the parks with that many people - a couple of whom had never met each other before that trip. We had 3 phones that we coordinated our MPs on, and everything went swimmingly! GFs all got along well, kids had a great time. We hopped back and forth between DL and DCA a few times. One of GFs wasn't too into the big rides, so she was done with them after SM. The rest of us hit all the rest of the big rides. The Rebel Spy took a tech break on ST :-(

Had a ton of fun on TSMM, GofG was fun, RSR always a hit (lost both times darnit!) got the wettest I EVER got on Splash - seriously, I think they changed something while it was being refurbished! Unfortunately GRR was closed, and so was Trader Sams (was really looking forward to an Uh Oa, darnit!!) Park was open until 11, but the kiddos were all tired and wanted to go swim at the hotel, so they left at around 8. Ended up having a great girls-only time! Hit all the FL rides that I haven't been on in years. Headed back at 11. A glass of wine with the girls, then bed.

Day #3:

Same drill, just an hour later. Parks closed at 8 (bummer!) but we stuffed a ton of fun in. DD wasn't feeling well, though, so she missed some of it. Ate at the Smoke Jumpers grill - that was new. Lots of churros, pickles, and Dole Whips. The weather was perfect (ok, a little hot for some of us Willamette Valley folks!). Everyone got along spectacularly. Lines were tolerable - maxpass was awesome both for the rides and pre-ordering food! Headed back to hotel, ordered pizza (Carolines? Wasn't awesome - too doughy for my tastes) then collapsed into bed in prep for the lonnnnnng drive home.

Day #4:

Coffee, burritos, and a very fast pack-up. Was out the door at 6:45am. GF#1 off to John Wayne to catch her flight - the rest of us in Darth Vader. Again, getting out of LA sucked (seriously, when will I-5 be expanded from 3 lanes just north of Anaheim!!) but once we got out, we made great time. Everyone took advantage of the rare bathroom breaks during gas-ups. We rolled into my driveway around 9:30.

Pros:
Saved money stuffing people into my huge car
Only missed 2 days of work/school
All my friends got along
Hilariously soaked on Splash
Great weather
Decent crowds
All the effects in Indiana Jones were working!
Something to brighten the deep, darn depressing Januaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrry.

Cons:
Closed GRR/Trader Sams
Limited hours

Would do it again in a heartbeat - not sure if kiddos would just because of the drive... ;-)

Cool report. Im on the East coast so I usually go to Disney world but I have been to Disneyland several times. I love the convenience of walking from one park to the other. I like test track but I think radiator springs is more fun. Thanks for sharing your trip. I love reading about everyones experiences

Thanks suejacken! Planning our next trip with GF1 from the gonzo trip. She's spoiling me in November (BDay!!) with a stay in the Grand Californian! I'll post a report after that trip... with GE opened, I'll have so many new experiences to report!

Awesome. I go to Disney World next week for 6 days but get to go back in November for 12 nights. Hoping to do Galaxys Edge then. They have not announced plans for my dates so it’s up in the air still if I’ll get to do it.

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